#uk beat

[halogenstar]

Elysian Ascension (2nd Album)

I had a lot of fun with this one, the album title and track listing went through various changes, in the end my friend Prismer (previously Maggie.wav) made the cover art for this album and the title and track list we're named by Vivarium Recordings

[entheo-music]

EXPIRATION - BLKSMIITH (VISUALIZER)

[johnkatsmc5]

The Good Earth/ The First Impression ‎“Swinging London” 1968 UK Psych,Pop Rock Beat

UK Saga label issued a large number of records in the late sixties. Some of them really good - like the two Brunning Sunflower Band albums I posted earlier. But most had invalid quality - unrehersed and unproduced with bad audio, giving the impression no one was in charge so they just winged it. This was the second album called "Swinging London". The first - issued 1967 (FDY 2100) with a different cover - had the same "The First Impression" cuts as on here. (I don't know anything about the group, probably some kind of studio combo.) It also had a couple of Beatles covers sung by someone called Russ Sainty, wich was removed for this issue and replaced with four new tracks from The Good Earth. The previous TGE LP on Saga was probably one of the worst albums ever made (see previous post), but here they got it together better and the effort can pass as OK garage. Unfortunately all four tracks are crippled by bad production and mixing, especially the Who-inspired "Jack Sly" having so much treble it'll curl your ears. Luckily pressing the mono button takes away some of the squeek. As Saga transformed into Boulevard label The Good Earth had changed into Mungo Jerry with world wide success and there was an attempt to re-release this version to cash in, but they were sued and issued the -67 Russ Sainty version instead (Boulevard 4070). So the four Good Earth numbers here are exclusive to this and at least one of them - "Help Yourself" - sounds a lot like later Mungo Jerry. Don't know of any other original issues, but a collection of random and odd Saga stuff on CD 2007 (RPM Records Retro-808) had a few cuts in common.....~ Anyone believing record labels are into music for the sake of art is either naive, or simply plain stupid. Labels are for profit institutions who know how to recognize and exploit popular trends. That's certainly the case for England's London-based Saga Records. Best know for releasing classical and jazz material, 1968 found the company hastily jumping aboard the growing youth market with the release of the hysterically packaged "Swinging London" album.  Clearly meant to capitalize on London's reputation as a 'happening' and cosmopolitan city, it's ironic that by 1968 such cultural icons as Carnaby Street were already past their prime. There's also a certain irony in the fact the album is quite good. Musically the album features two bands. Eight tracks are dedicated to The First Impression, with The Good Earth handling the other four selections. So what's it sound like? First Impression efforts such as the title track, 'Big Time News' and 'Young Man Seeks Interesting Job' lean towards a somewhat dated pop-oriented sound (imagine something playing in the background of an Austin Powers movie and you'll get a feel for the overall sound). There catalog is kind of cool in a retro way, though with the exception of 'Clap Hands, Big Deal' and the psych-lite "All Lead Back To You" it tends to blur together. With the exception of The Who-style rocker 'Jack Sly', the four Good Earth efforts aren't quite as impressive, with material such as 'Help Yourself' and 'Down Home Train' coming off as competent, if rather standard blues-rockers. Not perfect, but more than enough interesting items to warrant the investment ... It gets kind of odd here. After recording an album for Saga, Good Earth mutated into Mungo Jerry. Mungo Jerry subsequently enjoyed a massive hit with "In the Summertime" leading Boulevard Records (which was really Saga under a different flag), to reissue the original 1968 LP. Before the album could reissued Mungo Jerry management threatened legal action, leading Boulevard to drop the four Good Earth tracks in favor of three needless Beatles covers by Russ Sainty (anyone know anything about Mr. Sainty?).  ......Bad Cat.....~ London: Saga, 1968. LP record (STFID 2117). Budget label cash-in on 'Swinging' London, featuring two obscure bands. Colour front cover photo depicts a comic confection of characters posing with a psychedelic mini just off the King's Road.....~ Tracklist 01. First Impression - Swinging London 02. Good Earth - Jack Sly 03. First Impression - Split Down The Middle 04. Good Earth - Help Yourself 05. First Impression - Big Time News 06. First Impression - Young Man Seeks Interesting Job 07. Good Earth - Down Home Train 08. First Impression - Captian Green 09. First Impression - All Lead Back To You 10. First Impression - Clap Hands, Big Deal 11. First Impression - Piccadilly Sunshine 12. Good Earth - Unwashed, Unwanted

[johnkatsmc5]

Kippington Lodge "Shy Boy: The Complete Recordings 1967-1969" 2011 CD Compilation UK Psych Pop Rock  (Brinsley Schwarz, Graham Parker And The Rumour, Vanity Fare & Nick Lowe)

Kippington Lodge released five excellent singles on Parlophone Records between 1967 and 1969, yet they remain one of the least known English pop groups of the late sixties – despite boasting a line-up that included Nick Lowe, Brinsley Schwarz and Bob Andrews (a future member of Graham Parker & The Rumour). The group evolved from Lowe’s first band, Sounds 4+1, which he formed with school pal, Brinsley. After leaving school, Lowe, already used to a nomadic existence as his father was in the Royal Air Force, decided to go and see some more of the world, leaving Schwarz to return to his native Tunbridge Wells in Kent. Here Schwarz formed Three’s A Crowd who were signed to EMI in 1967. Changing their name to Kippington Lodge they released their debut Shy Boy in October. Lowe returned to England and joined his friends in time for the second single, Rumours. To supplement their lack of income from record sales, Kippington Lodge became Billie Davies’ backing group and released three further singles during 1968-69. The last single, a version of The Beatles’ In My Life, was released in April 1969. In September the group replaced Pete Whale with American drummer Billy Rankin and the name Kippington Lodge was dropped in favour of that of their lead guitarist, and the band became Brinsley Schwarz. Original keyboard player Barry Landerman resurfaced in Vanity Fare.....~ Shy Boy: The Complete Recordings 1967-1969, the first collection to focus specifically on Kippington Lodge, the Brinsley Schwarz precursor featuring Schwarz, Bob Andrews, and Nick Lowe, doesn’t contain much that wasn’t on the 1998 Brinsleys comp Hen’s Teeth. That collection rounded up Brinsley Schwarz’s non-LP rarities and singles they released under the names the Hitters, the Knees, Limelight and the Brinsleys -- so the singles of Kippington Lodge fit snugly within that context, yet there was still a handful of Kippington tracks that hadn’t seen the light of day. To be precise, there are five: the unreleased song “Land of Sea,” present in two takes, an alternate take of “And She Cried” that bears some notable differences, and then “Shy Boy” and a cover of Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Younger Girl” from a BBC session. Although these discoveries hardly qualify as earth-shattering, they are worthwhile for Brinsley Schwarz diehards: “Land of Sea” is an endearing piece of precious psych-pop, allegedly written by Schwarz as a satire but not quite playing that way; the Lovin’ Spoonful cover is a comfortable fit; and the alternate takes are different enough to be interesting. These tracks, combined with liner notes from Stefan Granados that tell the Kippington Lodge story in detail, are the reasons for owners of Hen's Teeth to acquire this, yet all the first-rate material already surfaced on that previous disc. Those unlucky enough not to have Hen's Teeth will find this very appealing, not only as that 1998 disc is long out of print but because Kippington Lodge were an ingratiatingly twee British psych-pop band that slowly summoned strength from single to single. “Shy Boy” and “Lady on a Bicycle” slide by on the strength of their period charms but Kippington started to come into focus with the “Tell Me a Story”/”Understand a Woman” 45, then once they incorporated a heavy Yes influence for “Turn Out the Light” and “In My Life,” they found firm footing, with Nick Lowe’s first original and lead vocal “I Can See Her Face” strongly pointing toward Brinsley Schwarz. All these pleasures are modest, but they are pleasures for Brinsley/Nick and psych-pop fanatics alike...... by Stephen Thomas Erlewine.....~ Kippington Lodge released five excellent singles on Parlophone Records between 1967 and 1969, yet they remain one of the least known English pop groups of the late sixties.This despite boasting a line-up that included Nick Lowe as well as Brinsley Schwarz and Bob Andrews (future members of Graham Parker & The Rumour) who would all find fame and in Lowe s case, fortune for their musical exploits in the decades to follow.Kippington Lodge have been afforded so little recognition that with the exception of having their singles crudely tacked on to a Brinsley Schwarz compilation CD in 1998 their output has never been presented and evaluated in the proper context.The group – whose first two singles were produced by famed EMI producer Mark Wirtz , including their contemporary version of the Keith West penned Shy Boy, today a regular on 60 s radio programmes – was a true creature of the sixties.....Terry Staunton ..(Record Collector – October 2011)...~ The only Kippington Lodge tracks available until now were, as SHY BOY's Reissue Producer Stefan Granados states in the opening paragraphs of his lengthy and otherwise informative booklet notes, "...(some of) their singles (were) crudely tacked on to a Brinsley Schwarz compilation CD in 1998". The compilation in question, Hen's Teeth, was actually a wonderful addition to the Brinsley's catalog, 22 chronological tracks of non-album singles and B-sides, some under aliases, that led off with 10 tracks by Kippington Lodge. Leading off a chronologically compiled compilation is far from being "tacked on"! Released by Edsel Records, a well known and respected reissue label, the sound quality was also quite good, and the enclosed nice fold-out poster's liner notes mentioned that original tapes were used unless unavailable, then the best quality copies of the records were utilized. "HEN'S TEETH" was a welcomed addition to the Brinsley Schwarz canon and sold out. Current prices, if copies can be found, show that the compilers were prophetic when bestowing it's title! If you ever find one, grab it quick, you won't be disappointed...... I finally received my copy of SHY BOY today, and found that BOTH releases have the previously released Kippington Lodge tracks in the same chronological order. The SHY BOY compilation has only five additional tracks, all unreleased. There are two takes of an unreleased song, "Land Of Sea", an alternate take of "And She Cried", and two BBC Sessions, "Shy Boy" and "Younger Girl" (another unreleased song). Except for the noted ridiculous statement in the beginning, Mr. Granados has written a detailed and very informative history of the group. Even those who own HEN'S TEETH will want this excellent compilation for the unreleased tracks and the nine pages of biographical notes, interspersed throughout with many rare photos, label scans and memorabilia.......by....John H. McCarthy....~ Before he taught us that it was cruel to be kind, and even before he first wondered “what’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding?,” Nick Lowe was one fourth of the groovy lite psych-pop outfit by the name of Kippington Lodge. The group, however, was short-lived, and morphed into pub-rock pioneers Brinsley Schwarz, folk/country/rockabilly revivalists. Thanks to Cherry Red’s RPM label we have the chance to listen the complete recorded output of Kippington Lodge for a window into “what might have been” for Messrs. Lowe and Schwarz. Shy Boy: The Complete Recordings 1967-1969, due the last week in July, is named for the debut single of Kippington Lodge, and collects all ten single sides plus five bonus tracks: an unissued song, two alternate takes and two BBC performances. Nick Lowe first met Brinsley Schwarz at the Woodbridge School, where they made music with Barry Landerman and Phil Hall. Lowe assumed bass duties and Schwarz guitar, while Landerman handled keyboards and Hall also guitar. As early as 1964, this group was performing as Sounds 4+1, but Sounds was short-lived, and Schwarz regrouped with Pete Whale (drums) and Dave Cottam (bass) as Three’s a Crowd in 1966. That, too, wasn’t destined to last, although Schwarz’s old friend Landerman joined in 1967 as the band was being renamed Kippington Lodge. Three’s a Crowd/Kippington Lodge attracted enough local buzz to come to the attention of EMI’s Parlophone label and producer Mark Wirtz. The same year of 1967, Wirtz joined EMI as a staff producer where he helmed efforts by Keith West and Tomorrow. He was instrumental in signing The Pink Floyd to EMI, and is best known for 1967’s “Grocer Jack (Excerpt from A Teenage Opera),” a single he arranged, produced and conducted for West. The hit single was just one part of Wirtz’s ambitious pop opera, but it was kept from the top spot on the British chart by Engelbert Humperdinck and “The Last Waltz.” (Engelbert was a force with which to be reckoned. His “Release Me” kept The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever”/”Penny Lane” double A-side from No. 1, too!) West and Wirtz followed up “Grocer Jack” with “Sam,” but that Teenage Opera tune stalled, leaving the whole opera’s fate in question. The complete Teenage Opera – shades of SMiLE – didn’t see release until 1996, but another song intended for it, “Shy Boy,” was given by Wirtz to Kippington Lodge for release in October 1967. Wirtz produced the first four sides (two singles) for Kippington Lodge, all in a lush harmony-pop vein. It was around the same time that Dave Cottam left the band, and Nick Lowe filled the vacancy on bass. Lowe would soon be penning songs for the group, including “I Can See Her Face,” an edgier work than the sides produced by Wirtz. The band’s revolving door was still in full swing, though. Barry Landerman left to join Vanity Fare (“Hitchin’ a Ride”), Bob Andrews joined on keyboards and Pete Whale’s exit paved the way for Billy Rankin to join the band. Kippington Lodge recorded “Tomorrow, Today,” a song by the hitmaking team of Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, and even attempted a Beatles cover (“In My Life”). None of Kippington Lodge’s singles, all released between 1967 and 1969, ever caught chart fire. The quartet of Lowe, Schwarz, Andrews and Rankin had quietly morphed into Brinsley Schwarz, the band, by 1970, adding Ian Gomm on rhythm guitar. (Following that band’s breakup, Schwarz and Andrews would join Graham Parker and The Rumour.) Shy Boy: The Complete Recordings 1967-1969 compiles all ten Kippington Lodge singles for the first time on CD under the band’s name. (They had somewhat haphazardly been brought together on a Brinsley Schwarz rarities compilation, Hen’s Teeth, in 1998.) RPM has added one unreleased song, “Land of Sea,” and four other alternates and live performances to round out the disc. Shy Boy is in stores on July 26 in the United Kingdom and one week later in the United States. by Joe Marchese.......~ Kippington Lodge 

*Brinsley Schwarz - Guitar, Vocals *Barry Landerman - Keyboards *Pete Whale - Drums *Dave Cottam - Bass, Vocals *Nick Lowe - Bass, Vocals *Bob Andrews - Keyboards *Bill Rankin - Drums Tracklist 1. Shy Boy 2. Lady On A Bicycle 3. Rumors 4. And She Cried 5. Tell Me A Story 6. Understand A Woman 7. Tomorrow Today 8. Turn Out The Light 9. In My Life 10. I Can See Her Face 11. Land Of Sea 12. Rumors 13. And She Cried 14. Shy Boy 15. Younger Girl

[johnkatsmc5]

The Montanas  "You've Got To Be Loved" 1997 CD Compilation of singles 1965-71  UK Beat,Pop Rock,Psych Garage

I never imagined the Montanas hits would ever be brought together on a CD compilation, but here they are in all their glory! Not a whole lot of national chart success here, but actually TWO of their singles were big hits on both Chicago hit music stations in 1968. "You've Got To Be Loved" was their lone Billboard charting hit (reaching #58), however it got lots of airplay in Chicago and reached #11 and #19 (respectively) on legendary rock powerhouses WLS and WCFL in March of '68. They did even better in Chi-town with "Run To Me" (#8 on WLS and #9 on WCFL in November of '68), and this one barely "bubbled under" on Billboard (but squeaked onto Cash Box's chart for two weeks, peaking at #96). About the only thing missing is the US-only single "I'm Gonna Change" (with "A Step In The Right Direction" on the b-side; this particular song sounds like it would have been a perfect fit on the Barbarella soundtrack), but the well-written notes explained that the master for this particular track was nowhere to be found in the Pye Records vaults. The notes also mention their 1970 Decca single, "Let's Get a Little Sentimental" (backed with "Hey Diddle Diddle") and it would have been nice to have those here as well. One further Independence side, "Heaven Help You" ("Round About" appeared as the b-side) is also missing here. So what if the rest of the country wasn't clued in on the Montanas' winning pop songs, they are catchy and irresistible as all-get-out, and the b-sides were pretty darn good as well! So stop what you're doing right now and seek this one out!!!....by....Raymond C. Ruether.....~ Virtually unknown UK garage band - apparently, this is notably their first official CD release ever put out. As they have had literally - stack(s) of 7' 45 singles out back in their day. Tracks I definitely got the most out of were the (outstanding) "That's Where Happiness Began" - almost worth the price of admission alone, the catchy "Ciao Baby", "Take My Hand", the radio-friendly title cut "You've Got To Be Loved", the awesome "A Step In The Right Direction", "You're Making A Big Mistake" (sort of maybe reminds me of the Partridge Family), "Hold On", "Tear Drops" and both versions of the instrumental and re-mix version of "Difference Of Opinion". Recommended for fans of The Sorrows, Episode Six, Pretty Things and the Easybeats.....by Mike Reed....~ Rock'n'roll band from Wolverhampton (West Midlands, England), which has not released a single LP in its entire career. They performed beautiful songs stylized as Searchers and Fortunes. They sounded on local radio stations, but did not hit the hits. And therefore their company “Pye Records” did not hurry with LP. But, strangely, overseas (in California) the guys were very popular and got into the charts. Eh, they used to know about their popularity in America ... but no one told them about it. Tired of unsuccessful attempts to break out into people, bass guitarist Terry Rowley and vocalist Johnny Jones in the spring of 1969 left the band and later organized the well-known band “Trapeze”. On this disc - a compilation of all the creativity of the group, including a number of never published songs and demos.....~ Personnel (all times): 

Bill (William) Hayward – lead guitar Graham Crewe – drums (left in 1967) Ralph Oakley – bass (left in 1965) Johnny Jones — vocals Terry Rowley – bass & keyboards (joined in 1965) Jake Elcock — bass (joined in 1967) Graham Hollis — drums (joined in 1967) Ian “Sludge” Lees – vocals (joined in 1969) George Davis – keyboards (joined in 1970) Tracklist 01. All That Is Mine Can Be Yours 02. How Can I Tell 03. That's When Happiness Began 04. Goodbye Little Girl 05. Ciao Baby 06. Anyone There 07. Take My Hand 08. Top Hat 09. You've Got To Be Loved 10. Difference Of Opinion - -. (1997 Remix) 11. Step In The Right Direction 12. Someday 13. You're Making A Big Mistake 14. Run To Me 15. Roundabout 16. Mystery 17. Let's Ride 18. I Need To Fly 19. Hold On 20. Sammy 21. Teardrops 22. You've Got Me Wrong Girl 23. One Thing Or The Other - -. (Version 1) 24. One Thing Or The Other - -. (Version 2) 25. Hold - -. (Instrumental) 26. Difference Of Opinion - -. (Instrumental)

[johnkatsmc5]

Toby Twirl "Toby Twirl" 1968 - 1970  UK Mod,Beat Psych Pop Rock 2017 debut album 

Unreleased studio recordings by both line ups of Toby Twirl: side 1 features Holly on vocals, side 2 features Steve. Limited to 250 copies on 180gram black vinyl, 60s-style laminated flip-back sleeve with 12" x 12" printed insert and download code....~

Toby Twirl was a late 60's UK pop/psych band. Best known for their original classic, Romeo and Juliet, they released several catchy harmony singles, all compiled here. Think Grapefruit or Pinkertons Assorted Colors. Essential new addition to your collection.....~

Legendary '60s beat combo Toby Twirl are set to release their debut album on Mega Dodo this October. Originally from Newcastle, England, the band was founded in 1968 and recorded three classic, and now highly collectable, singles for Decca in the late 1960s. This their long overdue debut long-player mixes original songs with a selection of carefully curated hits of the day.   The recordings were discovered by the band’s drummer, John Reed, in a dusty box of reel-to-reel tapes in his attic. The band made several demo and showcase recordings at various studios in the late ‘60s, but they were thought lost forever. Reed’s chance discovery uncovered a veritable goldmine of late ‘60s recordings by both line-ups of the band. Side 1 of the LP features vocalist Dave ‘Holly’ Holland, while side 2 features vocalist Steve Pickering. As you’ll hear, the quality of the recordings is as professional, crisp and tight as the band and have been professionally transferred and mastered with the minimum of 21st century jiggery-pokery to preserve their sonic integrity. Mega Dodo will release these historic Toby Twirl recordings as a limited edition 180gram LP with an insert telling the band’s story illustrated with previously unpublished photos in a ‘60s style flap-back sleeve. A CD with an 8-page book will also be available.  .....~

Toby Twirl hailed from Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. Formed in the 60's and originally called 'The Shades of Blue'. After being signed to Decca Records by Wayne Bickerton, a name change was called for, as there was a US group of the same name. The group released three singles on Decca - 'Back In Time ', Toffee Apple Sunday' and 'Movin' In'. Although critically acclaimed in later years, none of the singles charted due to lack of major radio play. The group concentrated on the cabaret circuit for live work during the late 60's and early 70's and were a top draw around the North of England. The line up was Dave 'Holly' Holland (vocals), Barrie Sewell (keyboards), Stuart Somerville (bass), Nick Thorburn (guitar) and John Reed (drums). Stuart was replaced by Dave Robson after he was tragically drowned in Tynemouth and Holly was replaced by Steve Pickering. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.....~

It seems incredible that it’s taken 50 years for pop-psych band Toby Twirl to release their first long player. The roots of the band started at Rutherford College in Newcastle in 1963 and originally named Shades Of Blue where Barry Sewell, Jim Routledge and Stu Someville who were all in the same form. From 1968 the band, now called Toby Twirl, released recorded three highly revered singles for Decca. Jason Barnard speaks to John Reed, with contributions from band mates Barry Sewell, Nick Thorburn and Dave Holland, about the group’s history and new release. Hi John – This is the first time there’s been a full length Toby Twirl release. How did this come about and can you tell me more about the record? The album is a collection of recordings we made at rehearsals. I was into recording and bought a Ferrograph tape recorder (which I have only just sold), some extra mikes and reverb/echo chamber. We had a pretty sophisticated mixing desk for the time and took a feed from that. Trial and error and a love of the recording process helped us to achieve some good results. Most of the tracks were one take. It helped us to listen back to the tracks to see if they worked before adding them to our live set and evaluate arrangements like ‘When Will I Be Loved’. I never thought that one day they would be good enough to be used on an album but engineers who love mono analogue tapes worked wonders!There were a number of line-up changes for the band – can you talk us through the line-up changes from when you signed to split. The first change was when the band wanted to go professional and the current drummer, Richie McConnell had just got married and his other half did not want him travelling off for weeks on end. Toby Twirl played a gig at The Seaburn Hall in Sunderland with a local band called The Quandowns who had just returned from Hamburg. They were impressed with the drummer and after a short conversation with him (John Reed) and Stu Somerville in a backstage corridor an audition was arranged and John was invited to join the band. The next change was when Holly left the band over personal differences and he was replaced by Steve Pickering on vocals. The last and most traumatic change was when Stu Somerville, the original bass player was drowned off the Tynemouth coast in a canoeing accident. This affected the band enormously. Dave Robson replaced Stu, but it seemed the life was kicked out of the band after this and it folded a few months later. How did the band get signed up to Decca? The band made demos of ‘Utopia Daydream’ and ‘Quarter Past Lovely Day’ and sent them to Decca. Wayne Bickerton got hold of them, like what he heard and decided to offer the band a contract. Toby Twirl’s first release ‘Back in Time’ was written by the band’s producer Wayne Bickerton. How much influence did the band have on the songs chosen and in the recording process? Initially no choice. Wayne had just written ‘Back In Time’ with his wife Carole and selected this along with ‘The Fantasy World of Harry Faversham’ and ‘Utopia Daydream’ for the first session. After that, Wayne would come and visit us somewhere on the road. He would turn up at our digs with a portable tape recorder and play us tracks. I remember he visited us in Southport where we were playing the Casino there. It was here we decided to do ‘Romeo & Juliet 68’ and ‘Toffee Apple Sunday’. An interesting fact is that this single contains the only two tracks we played on as musicians and is regarded as our best. All the other tracks were done by session musicians with us adding vocals. John, you co-wrote with guitarist Nick Thorburn the single ‘Toffee Apple Sunday’ – what inspired that track? ‘Toffee Apple Sunday’ was inspired by a trip to The Spanish City fun fair at South Shields. It was immortalised by Dire Straits in ‘Tunnel of Love’ but Toby Twirl got there first! Were you aware of The Fourmyula’s version of the track at the time and what do you think of it? Yes. The original publisher of the track sent us an acetate of the recording. We had no idea that the band were as big as they were in New Zealand. We were very flattered that they had covered the track and really like their version. What is an amazing story is that many years later, John Reed was recruited to work for Polydor Records which also marketed and distributed Fiction Records. Fiction Records main act was The Cure. Fiction Records was started and owned by Chris Parry who was the drummer in The Fourmyula! It was not until I had actually left Polydor that I realised Chris Parry’s previous life! Did you record much for the BBC and, if so is this material kept/available? We did a couple of sessions for the BBC 50 years ago like dozens of other groups at the time. The BBC had what they called ‘needle time’ restrictions imposed by the Musicians Union and were limited to the amount of records they could play. Nothing has come to light on any compilation to my knowledge. As we did not have any hits the recordings were probably wiped years ago. Fifty years is a long time!John: “This is a very rare colour photo from the film we made for Southern Television’s Tony Blackburn Show. This was ‘The Fantasy World of Harry Faversham’ and directed by Mike Mansfield. Sad that we have not been able to get hold of a copy. Southern Television no longer exists and the whereabouts of those shows is a mystery. Filmed on the beach at Bamburgh as well as the castle. I do remember it was freezing cold all day hence the overcoats on some. The girl was an actress hired by the tv company to play the damsel saved by Sir Harry. Holly found this photo and claims he was trying to calm a horse off camera. Holly had to ride one along the beach with the girl which was a scary experience having never rode one before! If only that film could be found.” Photo by Gordon Smith. The new album is a mix of original material and popular covers – is this reflective of the material you played in your live shows? Most of the material we played were ‘covers’. We were out and out a commercial band who wanted to entertain an audience and gave them a set of songs they wanted to hear. Some of the original tracks on the album were demos we recorded for consideration for Decca as we were trying to make our way as writers. There was a thriving live music scene in the late 60s – what were the most memorable venues and favourite groups you played on the bill with? The North East had dozens of clubs which, like most industrial towns in the 60’s, were thriving as people wanted to discover this new wave of music that had erupted from nowhere. The BBC treated rock n roll as a passing phase and dished up token bits on the ‘Home Service’. Radio Luxembourg became legendary pumping out what the kids wanted to listen to from 7pm every night until 2am. They only other access for kids were the coffee clubs. The Club A Gogo in Newcastle, The Cellar Club in South Shields and El Cubana in Sunderland were intimate clubs where the kids could get up close to the bands almost every night of the week. One memorable night was supporting The Small Faces at the Top Rank Suite in Sunderland. Another memorable venue was The Batley Variety Club. It was the size of an aeroplane hangar. They had a big in house band and the brass section was led by the legendary Red Price who played sax in Lord Rockingham’s Eleven. We used to end our act with ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and the brass section came on stage each night and joined in. That was quite special. The third and final Decca 45 was released in January ’69, ‘Movin’ In’. That’s another track that got airplay but didn’t fly up the charts. None of our records got anywhere like decent airplay which resulted in them not achieving chart success. One has to remember that in the late 60’s there were around 200 singles released per week. If you didn’t get onto playlists like Radio 1 week one, the single was dead as there were another 200 coming the following week. The new album contains a lovely version of ‘Something’ – I assume The Beatles were a great influence on Toby Twirl? The Beatles were a huge influence on the band and why wouldn’t they be! So innovative and if you played a Beatles track, everyone would be on the floor dancing and that was our job – to entertain. The band had two very distinct sets. We had the cabaret set which was a tried and tested set of songs with medleys, comedy and rock n roll. This set was pretty much set in stone and the only song which would be updated would be a current chart song which would be changed as and when. We then had a set of songs which we would use for second set in working men’s clubs or Universities when the audience were dancing rather than ‘listening’. There’s also a reggae influenced version of The Everly Brother’s ‘When Will I Be Loved’ – it works really well. Whose idea was this? Consensus from the band is that it just evolved one day at rehearsals. I am sure Barry, our keyboard player had a big hand in the arrangement. There were a few ska/reggae tracks around and it seemed a cool idea to do the song that way. Did you have much contact with Focal Point, given you shared the same label and producer? No contact at all. Recording was pretty much drive to London, load in to Decca’s studios in West Hampstead for a 2.30pm start, get everything recorded by 5.30pm and then off to somewhere like Birmingham to do a gig that night! Not much room for the creative process! Why did Tony Twirl split? There were a number factors but early mis-management did not help. When ‘Back In Time’ was released we were working 6 nights a week as we were very much in demand. SAS Management who were the agency within the Bailey Organisation decided to get us to do a lot of promos in all their clubs to get the single heard. These were unpaid gigs and we were still getting our weekly wage. We soon ran up a ‘debt’ which hung over us all the time. Whenever we mentioned getting a rise the debt was always shove down our throats. The result was that although we were now doing cabaret, sometimes doing ‘trebles’ i.e. a first set in a working man’s club, then off to do a 10pm and 12am spot in two night clubs, we were making about a third of what the solo artist who was supporting us was making. So we were top of the bill, packing the crowds into the clubs but not getting the reward. Also loosing Stuart kicked the heart of the group as well. It was hard to take the death of a good friend being so young and we were all very close. When did you become aware of the escalating prices for the Tony Twirl singles and the cult following for the band? A few years ago I discovered Facebook. Playing around with the site one day. I noticed that you could start additional pages. Just for fun I started to scan a few photos I had of the band and started a Toby Twirl page. I had no idea where this would lead and I was amazed at the response. When we split up, it was quite traumatic and at the time you just think ‘Well that’s that!’ You have no real idea you had any impact on people or your music meant anything to anyone. Through an internet sixties site I noticed someone had given ‘Romeo & Juliet 68’ and ‘Toffee Apple Sunday’ an amazing review. So I replied to the review and the next thing I am in touch with Hugh Dellor who was a writer for Shindig Magazine. A huge fan of 60’s psychedelia and all round good guy, he was a big fan of the band. The result was a huge feature in Shindig Magazine. Something the like of which we had not experienced when the band was actually together. It was Hugh that alerted us to the fact that our second single was exchanging large amounts on ebay. What did you do after Toby Twirl and did you keep in touch with the guys? When we disbanded, it felt like a void. We were incredibly professional in every aspect. Other options seemed to be second best. I personally ended up doing a residency in a club on drums which was soul destroying. I was lucky that I kept up contacts and moved to London to pursue a career at the other side of the fence. Working in music publishing, Radio Luxembourg and for major record companies RCA Records and Polydor so I managed to have a life in music. Barry and Nick formed a duo and did the clubs for many years making a good living before splitting. Barry still plays keyboards and Nick went into social services before retiring. Holly managed various pubs around Blyth. Dave left and joined FOGG, a Newcastle band that John ended up helping to manage. A record deal with EMI resulted in three singles and an album and a couple of singles for Warner Bros Records. Happily, the band have stayed in touch and there have been two reunions in Newcastle in the past couple of years. The second of which was attended by our erstwhile roadie, Colin Hart, who now lives in Florida. Colin went on to work for Mathews Southern Comfort, Deep Purple and Rainbow....Strange Brew....~ Seeing that 60s Psychedelia really didn’t hit the UK provinces full on until 1970, there was always a flip side to Swinging London. For every band of dilettante acid dandies freaking out at the Roundhouse or getting it together in the country there were a dozen hard gigging bands playing the northern clubs and discotheques every weekend. Apart from a few isolated pockets outside of the groovy epicenter, the fall out from the Summer Of Love was a London thing…………that’s where the really ambitious bands had to base themselves, however seeing that the Pop charts were full of hip tunes, a watered down version of Psychedelia seeped into almost every town in the UK. There were loads of venues and a load of bands available to play them, they were hardworking professional musicians who could make a decent living mixing a dash of cabaret and comedy with a set of Freakbeat/Psych tinged pop tunes and if they were lucky they would be given an opportunity to record a single. Toby Twirl were one such band, originally from Newcastle they were playing regular gigs between 1968 until 1971, they had the threads but were slightly uncool and no doubt the closest they came to a psychedelic experience was the hallucinogenic effects of Newcastle Brown Ale, but by the sound of their long overdue debut album they could really tear up a dancefloor on a Saturday night in Blackburn. The tapes of previously thought lost demo and showcase recordings were recently discovered by the band's drummer, John Reed, which have been carefully transferred to a digital medium and professionally mastered.....~ Tracklist A1 Baby What Good Is Love A2 Dark Time Of The Year A3 Something In Your Eyes A4 Love Is Love A5 Baby You’re A Rich Man A6 Movin’ In B1 Born To Be Wild B2 Marjorine B3 Something B4 When Will I Be Loved B5 Gonna Have A Good Time (Good Times) B6 American Woman

[johnkatsmc5]

The Mirage ‎ "Tomorrow Never Knows - Singles And Lost Sessions 1966-1968"   Bam-Caruso Records ‎2006 Compilation UK Beat,Psych Pop Rock

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Another unsung band of the sixties UK pop sike scene . The package contains their singles leased to Philips for release in the late 60's, plus the unissued sessions, and also including 11 previously unknown about tracks. These recently surfaced in a band member’s archives. The Mirage have an upbeat, harmony-laden approach akin to 1966 era Beatles and the Hollies. Many songs, mostly self-penned, were storytelling, observational songs ,the most famous of these being their 1967 single, ‘The Wedding of Ramona Blair’, about a bride whose groom fails to show up at the ceremony, which has appeared on several compilations of British Psychedelia. The Mirage signed to Dick James Publishing and served as the house band for a penny or two, including sessions backing Elton John during his embryonic song writing days. Indeed later on, following the bands break up in 1968, Mirage guitarist Dee Murray then joined Elton John’s own band for his run of classic early 70's albums and tours. Another connection The Mirage had was through writer / producer Kirk Duncan, who in turn had a deal with the Hollies’ own Gralto Music Publishing company. So a propensity for some material to sound akin to the Hollies is not quite so surprising. It even culminates in a song demo from Ray's collection with Graham Nash singing lead for a (previously unheard) Mirage session recording. This is the definitive collection of the classic pop sike period of The Mirage and the glorious packaging is enhanced by material from the band members archives.................. As already proven quite a few times, being at the right place at the right time, doesn’t always mean instant success, or for that matter, any kind of success at all. As if they had foreseen it themselves, for this bunch of Hertfordshire based lads, it remained a “mirage” for as long as they kept the name. For example, for bassist Dee Murray, it took to join Elton John’s backing band in the ‘70s, while some of them at least felt a taste of it, during their short time within Spencer Davis Group’s final line up. Even though about half of the content has already been available through the not exactly legal, to say the least, CD release titled You Can’t Be Serious, this one’s more than worthy enough, comprising first ever remasters of their three Phillips singles, and no less than 17 (!) previously (officially) unreleased recordings (11 of which weren’t included on the boot either). On the other hand, unlike this one, You Can’t Be Serious includes the second (Clarke-Nash produced) of the first two 1965 CBS singles, pairing up an unreleased Hollies tune, Go Away, (here present in it’s acoustic demo, featuring Graham Nash) with a similar harmony fueled beat number called Just A Face, as well as 4 more unreleased recordings, 5 live-on-BBC’67 ones, as well as the post-Mirage Portobello Explosion single from 1969, so considering all of the above, however happy I am with this new (and sound-wise way superior) one, I’m keeping the boot as well! Anyway, for all of you without any of these, Tomorrow Never Knows should be a natural starting point, and of course a MUST for any harmony fueled mod stomp fan! As far as the singles go, their only claim to (not really) fame, was their pretty competent cover of Tomorrow Never Knows, with the band, thanks to their Dick James Music Publishing association, getting hold of Revolver before it was actually released, backed by a much superior blue-eyed soul mod stomp of You Can’t Be Serious, finding them halfway between The Action and The Creation. They retained the laters vibe for Hold On, the follow up single’s A-side, which was a pretty cool mod-ish Taxman rip off, with The Hollies stepping in for the chorus, coupled with a kinda Rubber Soul-ful ballad Can You Hear Me, followed by The Wedding Of Ramona Blair, which might’ve been described as a groovy little “pocket symphony” that wouldn’t sound out of place on Billy Nicholls’ Would You Believe album, while it’s flip, Lazy Man, takes it back to the mod-ernistic pop approach, by way of the early Who, with the unreleased pair of Gone To Your Head and I Want Love, sharing the exact same formula. Of the other unreleased stuff, One More Time and That I Know clearly display the presence of The Hollies on the band’s earliest sessions, while it’s the later ones from ‘67/’68, that find them swing along with the times, throwing in some quirky popsike vibes, along with “fresh” phasing effects in the Lennon-ish whimsy Ebaneezer Beaver, or backward drum loops in Mrs Busby, while I See The Rain and See My World find them in a more dreamy, slightlydelic vibe. That The Mirage were capable enough of churning out tunes just as commercial as any of their more successful contemporaries, can be heard in either Lonely Highway, Hello Enid or Is Anybody Home, all sounding kinda like Tonny Hazzard-through-Bee Gees, as well as the acoustic demo of Katherine, being another piece of pure Hollie-pop, and the Kinky-Vaudeville sounding How’s Your Pa, with just an occasional nod back, towards the earlier mod-ish aesthetics of What Do I Care, with an extremely groovy acoustic arrangement. So, considering all the heavy weight references, such as Dick James, The Hollies or Larry Page (releasing two post-Philips singles), record contracts with CBS and Philips, as well as sessions backing Caleb Quaye and early Elton John, it just “can’t be serious” for a band like The Mirage to remain just a “mirage” in pop history isn’t it?!.........by RPM 2006.................. I find it sad that there are so many great bands from the 1960s who have now faded into obscurity. The Mirage are just one example. Tomorrow Never Knows - The Pop Sike World of the Mirage: Singles & Lost Sessions contains a selection of their singles, acoustic demos and previously unreleased tracks. The problem with The Mirage is that they don't have a very original sound. Songs like "You Can't Be Serious", "Gone To Your Head" and "I Want Love" sound like typical mid-60s pop songs and are reminiscent of The Hollies. The album even includes a demo of a song called "Go Away" with Graham Nash of The Hollies on lead vocals. "Hold On" sounds very similar to the Beatles' "Taxman" and the piano-based "How's Your Pa" is also very Beatlesque. "Tomorrow Never Knows", a cover of the Beatles song from Revolver, is a good interpretation but done in a much more conventional style than the original psychedelic version. Their best known song by far is "The Wedding of Ramona Blair", which was released as a single in 1967. It tells the story of a bride whose groom didn't arrive at the wedding and has an irresistibly catchy tune that will get stuck in your head for days. "Hello Enid" and "Ebaneezer Beaver" are equally memorable.  I also love "Can You Hear Me", a gorgeous and gentle ballad, and the haunting "I See The Rain". Other strong tracks include "Mrs Busby", "Is Anybody Home", "What Do I Care" and "Katherine". ...by....nowheregirl .......... The Mirage existed right smack in the middle of the British pop-psych explosion. Plodding along with a series of pretty good singles, the group never released a proper album, although this disc does a great job of collecting most of their recorded material. Sound-wise, these guys seem to perfect fit the bill of a 'typical' pop-psych band. They rock pretty well when then need to, keep away from the more embarrassing, cloying side of period psychedelia, but rarely stand out. This music slides right down the middle path. The disc is named after their cover of the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows." It's a straightforward garage rocking version and would be pretty spectacular if we didn't have the Beatles far superior version to compare it to. Really, most of the compositions here resemble 1965 beat songs with some crunchy guitars and echoing production thrown in. Tracks like "Gone to Your Hear" and "I Want Love" fare pretty well with this method. "Hold On" rips off the "Taxman" bassline for the 6087th time to somewhat mediocre effect. "One More Time" has a truly bizzare mix with an volume-controlled guitar place far above everything else. You will need to give some special attention to the band's signature single, "The Wedding Of Ramona Blair." Later tracks like "Lonely Highway" and "Hello Enid" add it some Sgt. Pepper orchestration in a reasonably tasteful way. I guess the caveat with the Mirage is that they are always competent but never really surprise the listener. It's definitely something that the psych-pop connoisseur will want to hear, but not the disc you'd want to turn to when trying to convert someone into a fan of 60's psychedelia. Let me throw in a note about sound quality. Everything here is very listenable, and well-produced, but most of the song do sport a frustrating coating of sonic crust. I don't know if this is due to the engineering at the original sessions or a factor of age, but you'll have to slightly adjust your ears for this one.................... Tracklist 1 Tomorrow Never Knows 2 You Can't Be Serious 3 Go To Your Head 4 Spare A Thought For Me 5 Hold On 6 Can You Hear Me 7 One More Time 8 That I Know 9 The Wedding Of Ramona Blair 10 Lazy Man 11 Ebaneezer Beaver 12 Mrs Busby 13 I See The Rain 14 Lonely Highway 15 Hello Enid 16 Is Anybody Home 17 What Do I Care 18 How's Your Pa 19 Lazy Man (Version 2) 20 See My World 21 Katherine 22 Ebaneezer Beaver 23 Go Away (W/Graham Nash)

[chrisgoesrock]

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The Roulettes - Stakes and Chips (Rare Beat UK 1965)